Eris

Eris (a.k.a. Discordia)

Eris, the daughter of Nyx (Night) has always been a shunned cousin of the great gods of Olympus. Ever a troublemaker, Eris was consigned to dwell in the dark caverns and labyrinthine tunnels beneath Mt. Olympus, connecting it to the underworld of Tartarus and other mythic and mystical realms. There she brooded and schemed, sometimes visiting and whispering to Zeus’ exiled brother, Hades, in his dark realm.
Eris is infamous for the occasion when Peleus and Thetis (parents of Achilles) invited the gods of Olympus to their wedding, but failed to invite the quarrelsome Eris. So she crafted a golden apple, engraved “Kallisti” (For the Fairest) and cast it into the wedding celebration, where the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite immediately began to argue over who was meant to have it. They chose the mortal prince Paris of Troy to judge, each promising him rich rewards, should he choose them. When Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite, she gave him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, who was already the wife of the King of Sparta. When Paris and Helen stole away to Troy, it began the long years of the Trojan War, which involved even the gods themselves.
From time to time over the millennia, Eris has interfered in mortal affairs, but the watchful (and wrathful) eye of Zeus and the mystic pacts sealed by the leaders of the great pantheons limited what the gods could do in the realm of mortals without their consent. For Eris, it simply became more of a game to trick mortals into providing her with the pretext she needed. Thanks to the satiric “religion” of Discordianism, Eris is perhaps the most widely “worshipped” of the Olympians in the modern world and has found various mortals open to her influence.
With her foothold in the mortal realm, Eris desires to extend her influence. So-called “civilization” is nothing but a joke, a polite fiction, and she will put the lie to it by creating strife and conflict on a global (or even interplanetary!) scale. The fall of civilization will stoke the fires of her power such that not even Zeus can stand against her, and Eris will topple the arrogant, complacent Olympians from their high pinnacle, eradicate the pact, and rule over all!

Physical Description

Special abilities

Eris is a goddess: immortal, physically powerful, and largely immune to mortal concerns. Those are among the least of her powers, however. A goddess of discord, she commands primal magic from the chaos that spawned the world. She can transform her appearance at will into that of anything she wishes.
In addition to the listed powers, Eris can invest certain servants with powers of their own. She can also withdraw her “gifts” if servants become rebellious or outlive their usefulness.

Mental characteristics

Intellectual Characteristics

Eris is petty, petulant, and jealous. An outcast amongst the Olympians, she bitterly believes concepts like cooperation and coexistence are polite fictions at best. All it takes is a slight push in the right direction to turn anyone towards selfishness and betrayal. She intends to both prove herself right and use her success to attain the power necessary to dominate all those who thought to cast her out and treat her like a pariah. In spite of her bitter heart, Eris is capable of projecting considerable charm, and often uses her wiles to seduce potential pawns to her cause, knowingly or otherwise.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Eris’ arch-foe is her “sister” Harmonia, the goddess and spirit of peace and cooperation. Harmonia is, however, even more limited than Eris in terms of intervening in the world, since she upholds both the letter and the spirit of the pact which forbids the gods from trifling in mortal affairs. Still, Harmonia can and does occasionally provide cryptic warnings or clues to those champions of civilization who might be able to counter Eris’ schemes. Ultimately, however, the inhabitants of the mortal world must succeed or fail on their own, and Eris dismisses Harmonia’s “meddling” as of no consequence. For what can a group of mortals hope to accomplish against the power of a goddess?